Stormy Victory: The Story of Tchaikovsky

by Claire Lee Purdy

Biography of Tchaikovsky with musical themes interspersed.

248 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1942

Reviews

[Jennifer S · Rating 2 out of 5]

After seeing Hershey Felder portray Tchaikovsky, I pulled this old classic off of my bookshelf to see how Purdy (in 1942) portrayed Tchaikovsky's life and where the differences were. Not surprisingly, his homosexuality was not mentioned in the book, nor his sudden death under suspicious circumstances (of course it was cholera!). The book was written for a young audience, perhaps aspiring musicians - but it was relatively plodding. Cute depiction of the sensitive boy growing up and just wanting to write music. Dull depiction of the adult composer ("Then he did this. Then he wrote that. Then his critics hated him. Then he visited his family. Then he wrote this.") The most interesting paragraph in the book was the very last one, where the epilogue described how Tchaikovsky's home had been preserved as a sort of museum to his life, until the Nazi's destroyed it in 1941 - "The exact extent of the loss and damage, however, cannot be ascertained until the war is over." (Remember, the book was written in 1942....)